Report: U.S. asked ‘Israel’ to review IOF’s “rules of engagement” in West Bank

Washington (QNN)- The Biden administration has asked ‘Israel’ to review its “rules of engagement” during military raids in the occupied West Bank after the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Israeli and American sources briefed on the call told Axios.

The U.S. pressure for ‘Israel’ to review the guidelines is unusual, but comes as the Biden administration faces pressure to do more to ensure accountability in Abu Akleh’s death, Axios reported on Wednesday.

The rules of engagement define the circumstances under which Israeli soldiers can use live fire in the West Bank.

Despite wearing a protective helmet and blue bulletproof vest clearly marked as “PRESS,” the 51-year-old journalist was shot and killed by Israeli forces in the head while she was covering an Israeli military raid into the Jenin refugee camp on May 11, sparking international outrage and calls for accountability for attacks on journalists. The slain journalist covered events and Israeli aggressions in the occupied Palestinian territory for 25 years.

The Biden administration said earlier this month that Abu Akleh was likely killed by unintentional Israeli fire, but a ballistics test of the bullet fragment removed from her body was “inconclusive.”

After meeting with Abu Akleh’s family in Washington last month, Secretary of State Tony Blinken called Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and asked him to publish the final conclusions of the Israeli military operational investigation into the journalist’s death as soon as possible, according to three Israeli and American sources.

The sources said Blinken also asked for a review of the IOF rules of engagement in the West Bank, saying it would be a step toward accountability in the Abu Akleh case.

Blinken told Gantz he thinks that either the rules of engagement weren’t followed or they need to be reviewed if an Israeli soldier shot Abu Akleh while she wore a bulletproof vest that was marked “press,” the sources said.

Gantz told Blinken that situations on the ground are not always black and white during military operations, the sources added.

“As the secretary said, we are calling for accountability for the tragic killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh,” said a State Department spokesperson.

A senior Israeli official said there was no official U.S. request to change the rules of engagement and if there was, ‘Israel’ would have denied it. “Israel is a sovereign country and the rules of engagement save lives,” the official said.

Axios reported that the Biden administration is now planning to follow up on the call with more talks with the Israelis on the IOF rules of engagement in the West Bank as the Israeli and U.S. sources said.